Tag Archives: European Union

First EU Citizens’ Initiative Calls for Right to Water and Sanitation

Image: Right2Water.eu

Image: Right2Water.eu

European Union law should guarantee the right to water and sanitation, the first valid EU citizens’ initiative has said. It also called for water services not to face liberalisation, collecting 1.8 million signatures after a campaign called Right2Water, which was backed by a string of NGOs and by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU). The activists held talks with the European Commission and MEPs on Monday in Brussels to mark the event. – Benjamin Fox, EUobserver

Read more:

Parliament kicks off debate on the legal right to water – EurActiv.com

Right2Water urges privatisation ban in first EU Citizens’ Initiative debate – European Parliament News

Interview: “Water is not a commodity, it is part of our heritage.” – European Parliament News

Right2Water website

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Filed under Europe, Human rights, Law, NGOs, United Nations, Water Resources, Water Shortage

EC Awards 50 Million Euros to 11 Innovative Water Projects

Image: European Commission

Image: European Commission

In Brussels on Thursday, the European Commission unveiled 11 projects slated to receive €50 million to support their innovative responses to “water-related challenges” (to put a lot of different fish in one tank, so to speak).

The projects involve 179 partners representing research organizations and private companies across 19 European countries. There’s a lot of variety in the types of work, as well. Three examples: smarter management of water distribution networks; biotech treatment of heavy metal pollution in wastewater; and new “aquaponic” systems combining aquaculture and hydroponics in agricultural production.  You can see the project names and acronyms listed in the tags accompanying this post, and more description of each project can be found here.

The funds come from the 2013 “Environment call” for projects of the European Union’s s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7). This brings total FP7 funding for water-related projects, 2007 – 2013, to more than €1 billion. A new funding initiative rolled out this month, the Horizon 2020 program, is expected to bring another €165 million to water projects in its first round of calls.

Read more:

UPDATE: Event presentations now uploaded

European Commission press release

A summary of each of the 11 projects

European Union water policy overview

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Filed under Agriculture, Awards and Honors, Conservation, Environment, Europe, Events, Industry, Pollution, Research, Sustainability, Technology, Wastewater Treatment, Water Resources, Water Shortage